A woman from Bulawayo dragged her married lover to the Maintenance Court demanding $500.
She argued and pointed out that he used to give her $1,500 per month when times were good and before she became pregnant.
Brian Moyo pleaded with his girlfriend Yvonne Mabhena to accept his offer of $100 in child support.
Moyo told magistrate Sheunesu Matova that he could no longer afford to give his girlfriend a luxurious life.
“My business is low now and my wife lost her job. I can no longer afford to provide for my own family because my income has changed,” he said.
Mabhena refused to accept Moyo’s offer alleging that he was no longer interested in her because she now had a child with him.

“He no longer cares for me because I’ve a child with him. He now has other girlfriends. I know he can afford to give me $500 a month because he used to give me about $300 weekly when we used to date,” she said.
Mabhena told the court that she could not prove Moyo’s income as he sells cars and spare parts.
She said he had no office and worked through communicating on the phone.
She told the court that he was able to pay the maintenance saying his children were attending fancy schools and the wife was employed.
Magistrate Matova ordered Moyo to pay $200 towards the upkeep of his two month old daughter. – state media

NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM MAI MUJURU
MY FELLOW CITIZENS, COUNTRYMEN AND FRIENDS,
As we come to the end of 2015, an eventful year politically, we wish to thank the Almighty for seeing us through. We wish to commend our law abiding and peace loving citizens. As a nation, we are confronted by a sluggish and dying economy, lack of democratic space and plenty of poverty on the majority of our people, which is a result of a corrupt political leadership without focus on the well being of the people. We should realise that without an understanding and a commitment by the country’s leadership to BUILD a vibrant economy for the benefit of our people, we are doomed. The liberation struggle was about the restoration of self-determination, self-dignity and self-pride which we had been denied by the minority settler regime.
We have a situation where in order to survive, everyone is a vendor, but there are no buyers, because the workers (buyers) have either been laid off or not paid for months, resulting in a lack of currency in circulation. We see people rendered homeless in this rainy season due to demolitions by the corrupt authorities or well-connected and corrupt individuals. The erection of structures now deemed illegal was sanctioned by either the responsible authorities or well connected individuals. The issue is that at some stage it was politically expedient to allow the structures to go up or outright corruption at play. The end loser and sufferer is the ordinary man, woman and child.
Is there hope in the future?
Constitutionalism
In a constitutional democracy, the ordinary man and woman have the ultimate weapon of freedom of association and expression. This manifests itself in a political call for action and change to address the adverse economic and social conditions. In a constitutional democracy, no person would feel threatened or risk personal harm, as these are constitutionally enshrined rights. In a constitutional democracy, there is a clear separation of the Party and the State for the benefit of all citizens, as non-Party members are not prejudiced, targeted or victimised on political grounds. Where there is rule of law, all the people who authorised the erection of illegal structures, which are now being demolished, would be brought to book. Women, Youths, Children and the Disabled are the hardest hit by these adverse conditions. We should embrace, reflect and uphold the letter and spirit of our State Constitution in our various statutes.
Economy
Faced with an imminent drought season, and a political management team without focus, there is no credit finance, irrigation infrastructure, or marketing mechanisms to mitigate the agricultural challenges that lie ahead. The investment environment is crowded by multiple incoherent policies, inadequate and unaffordable credit finance and an urgent need to reform a parasitic, non-performing parastatal sector. This has given rise to economic decay and ghost city status to once thriving commercial and industrial hubs like Bulawayo, Gweru, Harare, Masvingo, Mutare and other towns across the country. We should adopt investor friendly and market driven policies to curb corruption and stimulate economic activity.
Inadequate and dilapidated infrastructure.
We have to urgently create a conducive environment for investment whilst highlighting opportunities presented by our challenges. There is a huge investment potential from our severe energy shortfall. There are opportunities in both new and renewable energy sectors. Our dilapidated rail and road networks, inadequate water supplies and poor sanitation in our cities, towns and rural centers also present other investment opportunities. We should encourage and build on the healthy competition emerging in the telecoms sector, without stifling this with crude State participation, other than as a regulator for the common good.
International Relations and National Security
No man is an island, therefore Zimbabwe cannot run away from the fact that it is a sovereign State, that is part of a global village, with responsibilities to its people and the world at large. We should therefore engage all, East and West, North and South who can help us achieve and enhance the well being of our people. We should build bridges with our perceived foes and consolidate our relations with all those who wish to be our true friends. We pay tribute to our security forces for the peace and tranquility that we presently enjoy and we do not for one moment take it for granted. If anything, this calls for the maintenance of a professional and well-resourced security sector.
Social Space
As we see in the New Year, we should acknowledge the urgent need to address the education, health and housing sectors that are under severe stress due to inadequate and limited resources. During 2015, the economic and social hardships faced by our people were on the increase as depressing poverty took root everywhere. We should realise that the bulk of our people are not fully or properly served by our education, health and housing sectors due to lack of economic capacity to fend for themselves. We should have a government that empowers its people to address basic day-to-day challenges. We should have a government that promotes institutions that are well resourced to ensure service delivery to the ordinary people without political or partisan discrimination and interference. The dire housing situation resulting in the exploitation of the poor by the corrupt and well connected in society should be stopped. We should have consistent and predictable policies that are enforced vigorously, where all economic or social culprits are brought to book without fear or favour.
Let us not lose hope; we are masters of our own destiny.
Iwe neni tine basa rekuvaka Zimbabwe murunyararo.
Wena lami silom’sebenzi wokwakha iZimbabwe elokuthula.
Together we can BUILD Zimbabwe in peace.
GOD BLESS ZIMBABWE.
………………………
DR. J.T.R MUJURU
31 DECEMBER 2015

Zimbabwe is bracing for an industrial action Friday by state doctors and nurses after the cash-strapped government only offered them $2 per day as transport fee after failing to pay their salaries and bonuses this month.
In a letter dated December 29, secretary for Health Dr. Gerald Gwinji urged chief executives of government hospitals and provincial medical directors to brace for the worst-case scenarios, saying: “Following the threat of work stoppage by some health workers, you are hereby requested to make contingency plans to ensure that all hospital critical areas are adequately staffed and remain functional during the said period January 1-5 2016.
“All institutions are required to provide support to health workers in critical areas by providing transport or bus fare.”
President of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association, Dr. Fortune Nyamande, says there is no going back on their industrial action as the money being offered by government to meet their transport demands is an insult.
“The figures which are being circulated are insulting and they are not even worth mentioning on air, because we understand that they are giving doctors $2 to fuel their cars so that they can go to work. How can a respectable person like a doctor or nurse go to a service station with that amount to fuel the car? It’s an insult and not well thought out.”
Dr. Nyamande says the promise by the government to pay health workers on the 5th of January is incensing them. “How are we supposed to survive? We were last paid on November 27, 2015”
SENIOR HEALTH OFFICIAL ON HOLIDAY
Reached for comment the executive director of the Health Services Board, Dr. Lovemore Mbengeranwa, said he was on holiday.
Dr. Mbengeranwa referred all further questions on salaries to Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who together with Health Minister, Dr. David Parirenyatwa, were not picking their mobile phones.
But permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Dr. William Manungo, said he was not in a position to comment as he was driving. Voice of America’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe, however, failed to reach him again by the time of going on air.
Meanwhile, as the situation gets desperate, central bank chief Dr. John Mangudya met Tuesday with representatives of the public service.
Secretary general Raymond Majongwe of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe says Mangudya requested the meeting.
“It was at the behest of Dr. Mangudya. I would want to thank him whether he did it on his own or he was sent by the politicians but the most important thing is that there was dialogue.”
On the issue of bonuses Majongwe says it is clear from their interaction with the central bank chief that there are bound to be very long delays.
CENTRAL BANK CONFIRMATION
Dr. Mangudya confirmed holding the meeting saying they are routine as he prepares for his Monetary Policy Statement next month.
Workers though said they would have wanted officials from the Ministry of Finance to be present. Dr. Mangudya acknowledged that it would have made a lot of sense if the officials attended the meeting.
At the same time, in a statement, Public Service Association chairperson, Jeremiah Bvirindi, said government’s inability to communicate effectively had made things worse and created an atmosphere of mistrust between the employer and workers.
He said government should be warned that an industrial action is almost inevitable, saying “while we understand the hard times facing government, we expect continuous engagement with our employer on issues of mutual benefit to both parties. At this juncture we are finding it difficult to convince our members to be calm at this sad development.”
Education Minister and Acting Labor Minister Lazarus Dokora said government is ready to engage civil servants and denied allegations that cabinet ministers are not willing to engage with workers.
BALOONING CIVIL SERVICE
The number of government workers increased from about 315,000 in 2009 to about 550,000 in 2014 and with government coffers dwindling due to the economic crisis, the situation is set to worsen.
Speaking ahead of his 2015 national budget presentation, Chinamasa admitted to International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials that he was embarrassed that staff costs were gobbling up about 75 percent of government revenues.
“I am embarrassed that our wage bill is some 76 percent of whatever revenue we receive. It’s not good, it’s not sustainable,” said Chinamasa during a meeting with IMF official, Domenico Fanizza.VOA

A Kariba based Pastor who told President Robert Mugabe “The Truth,” Phillip Mugadza, has won his court case for a reduction of the bail amount.
The court on Thursday slashed Mugadza’s bail from $500 to $50.
He is being charged for allegedly obstructing traffic en-route to the ZANU PF conference in December and his court case will be heard on the 6th January.
On the day the ZANU PF Conference opened he held out a poster reading, “Mr President The People Are Suffering.”
Mugadza is now expected to leave police cells and spend the new year crossover with his family.

Harare city council has announced that there will be no tariff increases on services delivery because of the stressed economy which residents are going through.
“There is no tariff increase proposal for main line services (water, property tax, health services and refuse fees) in 2016,” said the city  council  this week.
The city fathers say they have  noted that the prevailing economic environment where thousands are in the informal sector will make life more difficult for them “should we increase” tariffs on service delivery.
“Your council is once more proposing a largely standstill budget on the back of the economic environment  which essentially is characterised by deflationary pressures , receding disposable income , liquidity constraints , company closures, burgeoning debts  and general mutation of the economic landscape( in formalisation )”.
“The interplay of the above dynamics dictates to us that tariff increases lack merit   and justification and will easily constitute a heavy financial strain on the populace,” Harare city council noted.
Harare city council is owed $380 million by government departments, private entities and residents.
The city fathers who are also failing to remit $180 million it owes ZIMRA and NSSA in tax retention and workers pensions contributions during the Christmas holidays announced that it was offering a 30% discount on ratepayers for 2016 who would have settled their bills by 31 December 2015 as a way of persuading residents to clear their arrears on unpaid rate bills.
 
.

State Media| Harare runs 30 bank accounts• Signatories unknown •
Harare City Council is reportedly running over 30 bank accounts, prompting councillors to order an urgent audit of the accounts and their signatories. Ten of the accounts are reportedly active, while 20 are said to be dormant.

Police in Harare have brutalised the leaders of the Rural Progressive Teachers Union Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and former Zimbabwe National Students Union-Zinasu Pride Mukono for organising a demo’ against government’s failure to give civil servants their salaries.
Mkono and company were on Tuesday raided at Kuwadzana 2 shopping centre by armed police officers who mercilessly beat them up before arresting them.
The activists were working on a strategic planning meeting on January 4, 2016 in Harare where they wanted to stage a demo.
The crew on Wednesday appeared before a Mbare Magistrate court who remanded them out of custody.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care says HIV and AIDS treatment on children has improved to over 75% from less than 40% in the past two years.
There are 156 000 children who are living with HIV with only 46,319 (40%) of them being on treatment.
The low uptake of Anti retroviral treatment on children has been caused mainly by the “delicacy” nature of infants which has not only left paediatric ARV expire hospitals but also claimed thousands of children’s lives.
Head of HIV and TB unit in the Health and Child Care Ministry Dr Owen Mugurungi told journalists attending a health talk show on new HIV guidelines set by World Health Organisation which was organised by the Health Journalists Association of Zimbabwe in Harare that paediatric ART has improved to over 70% in a space of two years.
“I am happy to announce that as at the end of 2013 we were at 39% in terms of ART coverage on children, and end of 2014 we got slightly at above 56% and as at the end of this year we are actually even better in paediatric than in adults which I think with satisfaction that we have done a lot in improving and making sure that more children are put on treatment,” said Dr Mugurungi.
“In adults we are slightly around 70% and in children we have moved beyond 75% in terms of coverage which is a good thing which we feel we can also maintain and sustain”.
Dr Mugurungi said they have superseded   the problems which were leading to the low uptake of paediatric ART.
“Initially there were no paediatric formulations, we used to break the tablet and crush it and that itself was a challenge but we now have paediatric formulations,”Dr Mugurungi said.
“The second issue was that in adults we used the CD4 count machines (to measure the amount of the virus) and in paediatric we used to have percentages and so we calculated and not everybody was good at that”.
 

A South Africa based man from Gutu allegedly stabbed five men with a knife on their buttocks while drinking beer after they reminded him that the South African rand had become worthless.
46 year old Timothy Mabika, of Chief Gutu allegedly stabbed Tendai Shoko, Menaart Hungwe and brothers Reuben, Miros, Trymore Jazira leaving them with serious wounds at Mpandawana Growth Point.
The men were rushed to Masvingo General Hospital with their trousers soaked in blood following the attack on Boxing Day.
Gabriel Majomba, a relative to one of the victims, said what started as a simple argument went wrong when Mabika put a hand in his pocket and drew a knife before stabbing the five men on their buttocks.
“Mabika was drinking beer with the five victims at Mpandawana Growth Point at around 4 PM. He was the one buying them beer,” he said
“One of them, probably after having one too many told Mabika that his money was valueless. Trymore Jazira told him that the South African rand was useless and people no longer wanted it in Zimbabwe.”

 
“The group tried to restrain Mabika but he overpowered them. They started fleeing with Mabika in hot pursuit. He caught up with them and stabbed them on buttocks one by one leaving them seriously injured,” he said.
But at the time of writing no police report was filed.
Masvingo spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula said:
“That isn’t to our knowledge, the case could have happened and the victims decided not to report.”
However, hospital officials said the five were admitted on Sunday after they were rushed to hospital on Saturday with deep stab wounds on their buttocks.
“Five men were admitted at our hospital’s male surgical ward and had stab wounds on their buttocks. They all gave a similar account of how their drinking mate, based in South Africa stabbed them following an argument over the value of rand,” said an official.
Masvingo provincial medical director Dr Amadeaus Shamu declined to comment saying doing so is unethical according to the patients’ charter. – State Media

Government has brought back the controversial National Youth Service with the graduation of over 80,000 entrants now to be called Green Bombers.
The State calls it the National Youth Service (NYS) but opposition parties say it is a mere ZANU PF program part of the wider terror network to be used to intimidate voters at election time.
President Robert Mugabe’s nephew and Youth Minister Patrick Zhuwao said the 80 000 graduates scattered around the country should have a hand in economic development.
He made the remarks after meeting the NYS Association members in Harare yesterday. “We have 80 000 graduates that are willing to make this economy move,” he said.
“This is a huge amount of human capital that we should be taking advantage of. I am going to co-ordinate your interactions with Government because the solution to the Zimbabwean economy lies with us Zimbabweans. Foreigners will only come to assist us and they do that on our terms. We are taking a strategic focus which focuses on Zim-Asset and the 10-point plan and we looking at localising the 10-point Plan so that it is implemented at ward level and co-ordinated to the constituency level.”
Zhuwao added: “In line with the economic empowerment strategy that the ministry is finalising, the NYS will play a crucial role through programmes such as Youth Build Zimbabwe, Youth Feed Zimbabwe and Youth Secure Zimbabwe which will be implemented at community level. Special emphasis will be on in-situ training.”
Zhuwao quoted by the state broadcaster said his ministry was working on the legislative framework to regulate the NYS programme and was re-institutionalising training in line with the directive by President Mugabe in February.
“Cabinet of June 16, 2012 directed the ministry to make legislative amendments to the National Service Act (Number 19, Chapter 11:08 of 1979) and we are currently working on that,” he said.
“It was during this period that camp-based NYS training stopped due to inadequacy of financial resources. The principles of the NYS Bill are now under consideration and will be submitted to the Attorney-General’s Office to pursue the enactment of a NYS legislation.”
He said since President Mugabe’s directive, camp-based training had been re-introduced at Dadaya Training Centre in Midlands with 112 people graduating two weeks ago.
Zhuwao defended his move saying it was unfortunate that “certain narratives” were being created to downplay the importance of NYS yet many countries, including Western ones, had a similar programme.
He said NYS graduates had also immensely contributed to the peace and security being enjoyed in the country as they also went through conflict prevention, management, resolution and transformation skills.

A PASTOR arrested for telling President Robert Mugabe the truth while waving a simple message that ‘Zimbabweans are suffering’, is languishing in prison cells since the Christmas period and now set to cross over into the new year behind bars.
Pastor Phillip Mugadza, a family man, is being persecuted by the State for exercising his constitutional rights of free protest against Mugabe, and needs $360 to secure his bail release.
While in Victoria Falls early this month, Mugadza held out a humble placard that simply read, “Mr President The People are Suffering.” It also quoted Proverbs 21:13 from the Bible, which reads, “Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered”.

The message came at a time when civil servants and other workers under Mugabe’s desk are failing to access their salaries.
The State in prosecuting however says he committed a crime stating it is that of obstructing party traffic en route to the ZANU PF conference.
Of the $500 needed for his bail only $140 has been donated to date meaning Mugadza has had to spend the entire Christmas period in cells and may crossover into the new year in chains.
Colleague and coordinator for Mugadza’s release, Tapfumaneyi Zenda backed by the Zimbabwe Lawyers Of Human Rights advocate Thulani Nkala told ZimEye.com, “we are therefore appealing to you friends to assist in raising the amount required for pastor Philip Mugadza to come out of prison.
“The Ecocash number is 0772458842 and our lawyer is Mr Thulani Nkala 0772681277 ZLHR Victoria Falls. Every deposit made will be announced publicly.
Mugadza’s lawyers on Tuesday approached the courts seeking the reduction of his bail to $50.
His lawyer Thulani Nkala of Dube and Company Legal Practitioners told ZimEye.com he approached the Victoria Falls court seeking a bail reduction.
His trial is set for 5 January 2016.
The Ecocash number is 0772458842 and the lawyer is Mr Thulani Nkala 0772681277 ZLHR Victoria Falls.

Top Zanu PF officials and War veterans who benefited from the controversial land reform programme are  selling irrigation equipment which government sourced for farming production , a senior government official has complained.
Part of the equipment which is being sold includes equipment which government under former Vice President Joice Mujuru secured from Brazil  last year.
Deputy Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development minister Davis Marapira made this revelation to state journalists on Monday when he said the development was going to worsen the country’s food security which is already at stake.
Marapira said the unproductive farmers are removing pumps, as well as computer and gear boxes from the centre pivot irrigation equipment and selling them on the black market.
The deputy minister said vandalism of irrigation equipment was rife in Mashonaland West and Masvingo provinces.
“We are in the process of investigating these culprits and we will prosecute them through the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement,” said Marapira.

• Police Officers seen openly campaigning for Grace as she invades Masvingo.
• Villagers ordered to “vote for Dr.Amai.”

 
By Terrence Mawawa, Gutu| Police officers at Chinyika Police post in Gutu surprised all and sundry when they were seen distributing Grace Mugabe posters and flyers to villagers who gathered at the business centre to receive farming inputs.
The incident witnessed by ZimEye.com happened on 24 December at Madondo supermarket.
Hundreds of villagers were surprised when three police officers began to distribute Grace Mugabe posters and flyers during the farm inputs distribution exercise.
The latest incident also confirms the fact that Grace Mugabe is now in charge of both government and Zanu PF programmes.
Villagers collecting the inputs were made to chant maxims praising Mrs Mugabe (Dr. Amai) for making the donations.
“We were ordered by our bosses to distribute Grace Mugabe’s posters and flyers and mind you there is no option but to comply with the directives from above. By the look of things Mrs Mugabe is now in charge of government affairs. Those receiving the inputs were also made to take home Mrs Mugabe’s posters and flyers,” said a police source.
The police details presiding over the process also told the villagers to vote for those who make donations, literally confirming Grace’s presidential ambitions.
The police officers at Chinyika are at present travelling to distribute Grace ‘s posters at neighbouring schools.
Sources also said another police officer in uniform has been distributing Mrs Mugabe’s flyers at Chinyika Rural Hospital particularly during an immunisation programme which began last week.
Despite denying the fact that she harbours presidential hopes Mrs Mugabe’s supporters are secretly campaigning for the versatile and controversial First Lady.
Contacted for comment earlier, Presidential Spokesman George Charamba told ZimEye.com he will not speak on Mrs Mugabe’s campaign programs as they are neither State House nor government affairs.

By Terrence Mawawa Chiredzi | A church prophet here was severely beaten up and left for dead by Zvombe villagers after raping a woman who visited his shrine to seek help for marital problems.
Nhanganiso Dewa(40) raped the woman after telling her she was being tormented by a goblin such that there was need to destroy the bad omen through sexual intercourse .
Magistrate Geraldine Mutsotso had to do an initial court hearing for Dewa on his bedside since he was still nursing injuries following the thorough beating by angry villagers.
The woman visited Dewa’s shrine on December 9 2015 to seek help for marital problems and she was told to undress and the prophet began to rub “anointing” oil on her body including private parts. He also ordered her to smear ash on her body parts.
An ecstatic frenzy Dewa then ordered the woman to lie on a mat and raped her once.
The woman upon rising up and realising she had been taken advantage of, quickly informed other villagers who gathered and instituted mob justice on Dewa who was left for dead. A police report was made leading to his arrest.
Several women have been tricked by self styled prophets as a result of socio-economic hardships.
Meanwhile a Chiredzi based prison Chaplain called for women to be resilient and seek divine help through direct prayer to God. “There is an increase in the number of women being raped by false prophets because sometimes they tend to believe in people rather than trusting God in every situation,” said the chaplain .

A Gwanda man who broke into two premises in Mpoengs and raped two women twice his age before robbing them has been jailed for 30 years.
Gift Mthombeni, 21, of Guyu was convicted on his own plea of guilty to rape, unlawful entry, theft and assault by Bulawayo regional magistrate, Chrispen Mberewere.
He will serve an effective 25 years after five years were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar crime.
In passing the sentence, Mberewere said Mthombeni’s conduct was deplorable and showed an inherent wickedness in his character.
“In assessing the appropriate sentence, the court notes and regrets that you’re a young man who stands convicted of a very serious offence. There’s substantial premeditation evident from the manner you committed the series of offences when you identified places you clearly knew the victims would be sleeping alone and pounced on them,” said Mberewere.
“You chose the very middle of the night to attack and rape two adult women both twice your age. Your conduct is deplorable and clearly imprisonment awaits you. It’s the only form of punishment that you deserve as it’ll also send a message to other predators like you,” ruled the magistrate.
Prosecuting, Liane Nkomo said on October 5 this year shortly after midnight, the victim aged 42 was sleeping alone in her bedroom when Mthombeni broke the door to the house to gain entry.
The court heard that while inside, Mthombeni grabbed the woman and pinned her down while covering her mouth to muffle her screams. “Mthombeni ordered the victim to remove her clothes before he raped her after which he took R140 from her handbag and fled,” said Nkomo.
During the same night, Mthombeni proceeded to a tuck-shop in the same neighbourhood. He knocked on the door and asked the occupant to open on the pretext that he wanted to settle a R30 debt. The tuck-shop owner, a 40 year-old woman, refused to open the door and told Mthombeni to bring the money during the day.
“Mthombeni who was wielding a machete, destroyed the locking system and gained entry into the shop,” said Nkomo.
He threatened to strike the woman with the machete but she ducked and the two wrestled until Mthombeni overpowered her. The court heard that Mthombeni assaulted the victim and she sustained bruises on her face, knees and neck.
Mthombeni raped the victim and stole packets of cigarettes, two cellphones, 28 airtime recharge vouchers and R500 and fled.
A report was made to the police leading to Mthombeni’s arrest and recovery of some of the stolen money and property.State Media

In an effort to raise cash to fund the bankrupt government and pay the starving civil servants who went on  Christmas holidays without salaries, the clueless Robert Mugabe administration has approved an increase in spot fines for traffic offences  from $5 to a shocking $100.
The move which is also going to increase corruption by the hungry Traffic Police becomes effective this Friday.
Report by Staff Reporter & State Media.
Motorists, who proceed against a red traffic light, overtake over a solid white line, drive without a licence, or operate faulty vehicle without a foot brake will be fined US$100 for each offence up for the current US$20. Encroaching white lines at traffic light stops and verbally abusing other road users now attract US$20 fines, up from US$10. Motorists have raised concerns that the penalties are steep and will increase corruption.
According to a Government Gazette published a fortnight ago, the legislature gave the nod to the passage of the 2016 National Budget which, among other interventions, will see traffic fines being increased.
Government contends that the increase in fines was necessitated by growing carnage on the country’s roads as a result of human error and reckless driving.
An average of five people have died daily in road traffic accidents between 2009 and last year, while two were injured every hour, according to the 2014 Annual Zimbabwe Republic Police Traffic Report.
During the period, the country witnessed a surge in road traffic accidents.
This was attributed to an increased vehicle population following improved economic performance that saw more people importing cheap Japanese cars.
There is a mismatch between the actual number of vehicles on the roads between figures the Central Vehicle Registry has on its books and what the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration says.
CVR data shows 1,4 million vehicles cumulative from 1918, while the Zinara database shows that less than 500 000 vehicles are paying licence fees.
Police statistics show that 41 016 road traffic accidents were recorded in 2014, a nine percent increase from 31 619 reported in 2013.
At least 1 692 people were reported to have died in road traffic accidents in 2014 compared to 1 782 the previous year.
Police say an average 1 824 people died each year between 2009 and 2014.
Public transport operators, especially commuter omnibus drivers, have been accused of causing many accidents.
And while Greater Harare Association of Commuter Operators secretary Mr Ngoni Katsvairo acknowledged reckless drivers in their organisation, he said the new fines would increase corruption involving Traffic Police and motorists.
“The increase in traffic fines will only fuel corruption. You will find that there are many unroadworthy vehicles and drivers with no licenses on our roads because authorities are bribed and thus offenders are not arrested.
“There is need for Government to introduce stiffer penalties which do not involve cash at all, such as imprisonment to discourage motorists from breaking the law.”
Zimbabwe Republic Police national spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said: “I am not in the office please contact Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi.”
Chief Supt Nyathi declined to comment saying: “I cannot comment on spot fine issues, I am not at work.”
Government says it is moving to encourage good road user behaviour.
Presenting the 2016 National Budget in Parliament last month, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa asked legislators to enforce an upward increase of traffic fines.
He proposed a review of road traffic fines to begin from level two and end at level four of the standard scale.
The minister said fines for offences related to double parking, no stopping, no parking, no left/right turn, vehicles with fuel and oil leaks, discarding rubbish from vehicles, and spitting in or from vehicles be moved from level one to level two attracting US$10 up from US$5.
Failure to signal slow down, stop or violating a turn right or left sign, cutting a corner and proceeding against an amber traffic light, he proposed, should attract US$20 fines up from US$10.
“Some motorists, particularly, commuter omnibus and ‘mshika-shika’ drivers continue to risk the lives of passengers and other motorists due to negligent driving,” said Minister Chinamasa.
“The most common offences committed include, proceeding against red robots, overtaking against white solid lines, driving on the wrong side of the road, dropping passengers at undesignated points and failing to stop when instructed to do so by the police, among others.”
He said traffic fines were meant to be a deterrent, but the current standard scale of fines – last reviewed in 2009 — did not promote safety and discipline.

With the economic conditions in Zimbabwe getting worse by the day thousands of young Zimbabweans are daily finding their way to South Africa with the hope of getting a job and making a living.
As the old saying goes the grass is not always greener on the other side, the once City of Gold Johannesburg which used to absorb many Zimbabweans into the job market has also dried up. Jobs are now very hard to come by in South Africa as ZimEye.com reveals, forcing the millions of Zimbabweans in the country to find alternative means of survival.
For most young Zimbabwean women, the solution has always been easy as they resorted to becoming commercial sex workers. Most ladies of the night in inner Johannesburg, Pretoria and Capetown are Zimbabweans, some highly qualified professionals who could not make a living back home due to President Robert Mugabe’s failed government.
There is beyond this, a new trend of Zimbabweans trying to make a living in South Africa. Several young Zimbabwean men are roaming up market Johannesburg night spots as commercial gay sex workers.
ZimEye.com met up with several young Zim men at a night spot in Rivonia north of Johannesburg over the Christmas holiday.
In an all revealing interview with ZimEye.com the young men revealed that the number of Zimbabweans going into gay prostitution is increasing every day as job opportunities fail in Johannesburg.
According to one young man from Harare who preferred to be called Thandi, he was brought into the trade by a friend who has been practising it since 2010 during the FIFA World Cup.
“Thandi” claims that there is a huge number of fellow Zimbabweans plying the trade in Johannesburg some without even their immediate families knowing what they do for a living.
“I stay with my wife and kids in Beria and she doesn’t know what job I do here in Rivonia, as far as she knows I work at a night club four times a week,” he said.
A colleague of Thandi who calls himself Bongie claims that he has also been in the business since 2012 and has managed to buy himself a car and build a house back home in Bulawayo.
The four men interviewed who are all between the ages of 26 and 32, claim that the industry is highly paying as they can make up to R15,000 (fifteen thousand) every month.
“Thembi”also from Harare says that the gay prostitutes are actually more demanded than the conventional ladies.
” There is a higher demand for us men than ladies in these high profile areas and most of our clients are very rich professional people both black and white and even politicians, ” he said.
“Some of them are out in newspapers talking bad about gays but at night they come here running offering huge amounts of money for our service,” he added.
Tich, who is using his real name in the trade, says that he has been in the business since the World Cup in 2010. He says when he started it he was working as a temporary barman at a club in Fourways in Johannesburg and was given an offer of R15 000 for three days of escort and gay sex by a white man from the USA and has never looked back on the business which he claims to be highly paying.
The four young men all put the blame of their predicament on President Mugabe’s government for failing to provide them with job opportunities back home. The men claim that there are hundreds more of Zimbabwean men in the same trade all because they can’t get jobs in South Africa and have to resort to being “men of the night” just to make ends meet.
“Some are not out here in the streets my brother, but stay in known gay rooms where they are doing it as a job with a weekly wage,” said Tich. “It’s for the money not the love for it. I have a wife and children to take care of back home but can’t get a job so I have to think of ways of feeding my family.”
President Mugabe is a known fighter against gays and lesbians who he frequently refers to as being worse than dogs and pigs. Several of his cabinet ministers and senior party officials have however been rumoured to be heavily involving themselves in gay relationships.
Zimbabwean laws prohibit gays and lesbian marriages and have come under heavy criticism from activists backing the trade. In South Africa the relationships are practised legally and people are allowed even to marry.

By Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo|In a typical case of dramatic irony, a Zanu PF councillor in Chivhu snatched the wife of an MDC official in an incident that has left the community stunned.
ZimEye.com can reveal Zanu PF councillor for ward 17 in Chikomba District, Israel Dhikinya who is also a prominent businessman proposed love to Emmanuel Punungwe’s wife, Victoria and he was trapped in Whatsapp messages he sent to the wife.
The development has sparked a volcano of controversy surrounding the issue after it emerged Dhikinya now a sex rival, also contested against Punungwe in the 2013 local government elections.
Although Victoria claimed she only knew Dhikinya as her former boss, sources maintained the two were lovebirds.
“I only met Dhikinya in town and we exchanged phone numbers. We come from the same area and he knows I am married. Infact he knows my husband very well,” said Victoria.
Dhikinya also spoiled the woman with money -sending between $ 10 and $30 via Ecocash on several occasions.
Punungwe one day became suspicious and took Victoria’s phone. While perusing messages he soon discovered the trove-shock. He then seized the handset refusing to return it.
Dhikinya continued to send Whatsapp messages oblivious of the fact that he was chatting with Punungwe.
The cache of shocking data in Punungwe’s hands is now set to be used in divorce proceedings.
Dhikinya had reportedly gone crazy with Victoria such that he even displayed her picture on his Whatsapp profile..
An angry Punungwe has told ZimEye.com, :”I do not want anything from him but what he did is very bad. He must leave my wife alone.”
Dhikinya after being discovered and now pleading for mercy has asked for talks so to settle the matter:”I think let us meet sometime so that I can explain everything to you,” he told Punungwe in writing.
Social analysts have attributed such incidents to the current socio-economic challenges rocking the nation.
Punungwe is a teacher and sources claim Victoria was lured by the Zanu PF councillor who is also a businessman.
The current economic situation has led to marriage disintegration and cases of married women involved in extra marital affairs have been on the increase in the past two years.

President Robert Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao cut his Christmas celebration Thursday to attack Patrick Chinamasa saying an indigenisation easing pronouncement by the Finance Minister is null and void.
The outspoken Zhuwao bustled journalists to his emergency press conference where he said Chinamasa betrayed his uncle by allowing foreign owned companies to continue operating without complying. Zhuwao also said the extending of the compliance deadline to March 2016 was mischeveous.
The Indigenisation dictation forces foreigners to cede 51% of their investment to local black Zimbabweans.
Zhuwao rubbished Chinamasa saying, “Government is not backing down on indigenisation; President Robert Mugabe has pronounced himself on that. The timing of that statement is very unfortunate because it was timed specifically when the President was out of the country, when the President has gone on leave,” he said.
He added “and that to me appears to be very treacherous because we are all supposed to follow the leader of the country because he is the one who has the mandate and for one to then issue a statement around policy issues without having cleared them with the President does not make sense.”
The Indigenisation Act was passed in 2008. “All companies that have not yet submitted their indigenisation implementation plans as required by the Act should submit their applications by the new deadline of 31 March 2016,” Patrick Chinamasa said in the statement.

By Terrence Mawawa, Masvingo|Moneylenders are cashing in on desperate civil servants to peg astronomical rates during the festive season since government workers will only get their salaries after Christmas .
Many civil servants have been forced to borrow money for Christmas since they will only get their salaries on 28 December. There are unconfirmed reports Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa is likely to push the pay date for civil servants to January 5 . The development is likely to create further misery for the already hard-pressed government workers.
Moneylenders in Masvingo, Gutu and Bikita are charging as high as 50% interest per month and workers at the respective institutions have also confirmed there is incessant pressure from broke civil desperate to access cash for Christmas shopping.
“We are really struggling to cope with the demand for cash. We are even receiving bribes in order to process their applications quickly.
The government workers have no option but to come to us since they can only get their salaries three days after Christmas. We will also work on Christmas day which is unusual. Some of the civil servants are paying bribes ranging from $5 to $10 dollars,” said a Gutu based moneylender.
Stephen Mudereri a PTUZ representative for Masvingo condemned the pathetic living conditions for teachers and the rest of the government workers who have been reduced to beggars as they continue to suffer under President Robert Mugabe’s administration.
While civil servants are jostling for loans, Mugabe and his wife Grace are currently out of the country for the nonegenarian’s annual leave ..

A commuter omnibus driving on the wrong side of the lane has claimed the life of a Harare woman.
The tragedy, which happened on a busy Fourth Street in Harare just on the eve of Christmas, was witnessed by many who told the State Media that it all began when the commuter omnibus raced down the wrong lane next to the rank.
Eyewitnesses say after the woman was knocked down, another commuter bus came and dragged her on the tarmac.
Onlookers are reported to have rushed to try and assist the injured woman without much success.
The eyewitnesses said when they realised that there was no ambulance in sight, two Good Samaritans ferried the injured woman in their car to hospital.
However, less than 200 metres from the accident spot, the Good Samaritans realised the unlucky accident victim had died and parked their car on the side of the road and alerted the police who were yet to get to the scene when the State Media arrived.
The tragedy, a result of errant driving, comes at a time stakeholders including the police, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, the Vehicle Inspection Department and the public are pulling efforts together to curb road carnage

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights says they  will continue testing the new constitution through approaching the Constitutional Court challenging human rights abuses and unconstitutional laws.
Zimbabwe adopted a new constitution in 2013 and it is yet to implement the  new charter.
Government has cited financial resources as the major reason for the delays in aligning the laws with the constitution.
Dzimbabwe Chimbgwa a senior staffer with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights told reporters, diplomats, and members of the civil society and government officials in Harare recently that the granting of court orders on cases which they have taken to the Constitutional Court testifies that the constitution is working adding that they will continue testing the constitution.
“We have seen progress in that regard where for example our lawyers have challenged and taken precedent setting cases such as section 121 which was struck off the statutes by the Constitutional court which most of you know that the state was using to suspend an order by the court and in so doing undermining the issue of separation of powers, we challenged successfully that section in line with the constitution, “he said.
Chimbwga said it is not always true that citizens have to push their Parliamentarians for the enactment and or realignment of the laws with the new charter.
“We have brought a number of cases where we have challenged demolitions in Mazowe where the demolitions which we were made to understand that were done for the best of a very important person.
“We have seen demolitions in Chitungwiza where we have challenged those and managed to stop some in Epworth .We have had judgement in Chingwizi against police officers in their personal capacities because of their conduct which is inconstant with the new constitution,” said Chimbgwa.
“So in that sense we can say the new constitution is a success   to the extent that it gives us a legal frame work through us lawyers to protect people’s rights and that is a positive”.

President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday struggled to explain the background of  Aguy Georgias, who he declared a national hero and buried  at the national shrine.
What the aging leader managed to say was that the late industrialist was a “real fighter” who fought against sanctions.
“Aguy belongs to the league of man and women who rejected oppression and racial discrimination, that is the legacy he has left. Today we are celebrating a life well lived, at 80 years, the things he achieved makes his life greater than his death,…. Georgias has left us a record which today chides you, chides all of us. It is a record which exalts us all a life worth lived,” said Mugabe who is on record saying that only those who took part in the liberation war deserved to be buried at the national heroes Acre.
According to Mugabe the war that Georgias fought was that of dragging the EU to the courts for imposing sanctions on his personal, Trinity Engineering Company and the deportation of his family from Britain.
To show that Mugabe was at pains to qualify Geogias’hero status, the state media attempted a stretched historical background of the party apologist which is below.
Who is Cde Aguy Georgias?
 

• Former Deputy Minister of Economic Development as well as Deputy Minister of Public Works and National Housing.

• Was Zanu PF Central Committee member.

• A businessman, founder and Managing Director of Trinity Engineering (Private) Limited.

• Senator Georgias served as a member of the recently dissolved POTRAZ board.

• He died at the age 80 last Friday at A.M.I Hosptial in Avondale, Harare after succumbing to heart and kidney failure.

Stance Against Sanctions

• Cde Georgias made several remarks on his stance on sanctions.

• He argued that the sanctions were imposed on Zimbabwe as the country ruined relations with Britain by redistributing land which previously was largely in the hands of the white minority.

• Cde Georgias also fought against the deportation of children from the United Kingdom where they were pursuing their studies. The children were scheduled for deportation on the basis of their father being a Zanu PF member who had been blacklisted.

• Although he was reportedly removed from the sanctions list, Cde Georgias noted that for the five years that he was on the list his business interests suffered significantly.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights are engaging water scientists to ascertain the degree of Harare water contamination the local authority is providing to residents with the intention of dragging the city fathers to the courts.
Last week Harare City Council admitted that it was providing unsafe water to residents.
The city council’s water director Engineer Christopher Zvobgo said Lake Chivero the source of Harare water is “very” dirty due to pollution.
The local authority has been denying that Harare water was contaminated with human waste which finds its way into Lake Chivero through bust sewerage pipes characterising the city.
In an interview with Zimeye.com an official with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights David Hofisi said they are collecting evidence of the Harare water contamination before suing the local authority.
“This is a case we are working on and we want to gather as much evidence as we can so that we challenge the local authorities with  concrete evidence,” he said.
He said they are looking for independent water engineers after realizing that using state water scientists from the University of Zimbabwe was going to compromise their argument.
“We have been forced to look for private water experts because of the relationship between the state and the state Universities which we feel those who we would have engaged might not be willing to stand before the courts of law and give evidence against government which happens to be their employer,” Hofisi added.

By Tinoonga Mawere, Masvingo| The National Treasurer General(Youth) for the MDC formation led by Welshman Ncube, Godwin Masiya has resigned to join Joice Mujuru’s People First.
Masiya becomes the latest high profile politician to join Mujuru who seems determined to clash with her former boss President Robert Mugabe in the make or break 2018 polls. Former MDC and Zanu PF bigwigs are also jostling for influencial posts in Mujuru’s People First, it has emerged.
Masiya told reporters in Masvingo earlier yesterday he quit the party in a huff citing nepotism, regionalism and what he termed a ‘general lack of commitment’. He said it was time to move on to a vibrant political party capable of delivering the much awaited transformation in the country. He added he was fed up with pumping out resources from his pockets to sponsor a losing cause.
“I have decided to quit the party because there is nepotism and regionalism. The leaders are only concerned about one province in the country so it is a real farce. I have therefore decided to move on to better things. I am tired of using my money to sponsor party activities and the guys at the top are simply ungrateful. I therefore feel it is now time to move on. There is lack of seriousness in the party so I will move on to People First,” said Masiya .
Sources in the Welshman Ncube led MDC formation told ZimEye.com the party leadership has been rocked by Masiya’s resignation and Ncube himself expressed shock at the resignation.
“Masiya’s resignation has really rocked the party leadership because he is the man who pulled the strings in terms of seeking funding for the party and he is a long serving member,” said a party official.
The resignation comes at a time Zanu PF and MDC supporters are clandestinely attending People First strategic meetings across the country.
Mujuru has emerged as the leading contender to lock horns with the nonegenarian -Mugabe who turns 92 early next year.
Mujuru who faced the ignonimy of being kicked out of Zanu PF for allegedly plotting to kill Mugabe is expected to wrestle power from her former party and end three decades of social, political and economic misery for the people of Zimbabwe.